November 13 Click on verses for Full Scripture	previous - - - - - - - - - - next
Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 5:20-21 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Paul has been explaining his ministry of reconciliation, and he ended verse 20 by stating what his message was:

"Be ye reconciled to God".

He opens by writing that God made Jesus to be sin for mankind. The first thing we notice is that God is the Author of salvation. He is the One Who is offended by our sin, yet He is also the One Who made a way for our sins to be forgiven. When we are offended by someone else our normal expectation is that the offender should come to us to resolve the problem. But in God's case, the Offended went to the offender. The Holy One went to the sinner. What great love and mercy He has for mankind! Second, we see that Jesus was "made sin". Jesus never sinned. The next phrase of the verse tells us that He "knew no sin". He never committed any sin: He never did anything that was a violation of the Scriptures, He never had an evil thought, He never spoke an inappropriate word, He never had an attitude that was anything less than absolutely pure and holy. Even His enemies recognized that fact. Pilate declared from his judgment seat,

"I find no fault in him" (John 19:4,6).

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

"The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ deliberately took upon Himself and bore in His own Person the whole massed sin of the human race, and by so doing He put the human race back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what Our Lord did on the Cross."

The goal of putting the sins of mankind on Christ and His offering of Himself for those sins (Hebrews 10:10) was that those who accept His sacrifice for themselves would receive the righteousness of Christ. It is our sin that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), but when we receive Christ we receive His sinless righteousness. Paul wrote in Romans 4:3,

"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."

"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead".

Harry Ironside wrote,

"Upon the cross Christ took the sinner's place, He was treated as though guilty of all the sin and iniquity and unrighteousness of the ages.... And because He, the sinless One, has died in the place of sinners, we, the sinful, may enter into life, may become the righteousness of God in Him. This last verse of our chapter shows the One who was sinless enduring the wrath of God which we deserved. But, having settled the sin-question to the divine satisfaction, He has been raised from the dead and seated at God's right hand. There on the throne He is our righteousness. The Father sees every believer in Him, free from all condemnation, made the display of the righteousness of God in Him. He Himself is our righteousness. God is satisfied and our consciences are at peace. What a salvation this is!"